1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a film antenna apparatus having flexibility and, more particularly, to a thin, light, and flexible antenna apparatus which can be folded in a compact size to be housed and carried, and which can be adhered on or embedded in a surface of a wall or a piece of furniture and hence does not degrade an interior design.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, as for a VHF/UHF antenna for outdoor use, Yagi-type antennas constituted by metal pipes are widely used. In addition, a variety of antenna apparatuses constituted by metal pipes are used also indoors. However, since shapes and sizes of these antenna apparatuses are limited to obtain necessary characteristics, it is difficult to realize a good design. Moreover, these antenna apparatuses have three-dimensional shapes and hence occupy large spaces as a whole.
Therefore, when an antenna apparatus as described above is adapted especially for indoor use, an interior design is often degraded. Furthermore, such an antenna apparatus is disassembled or folded and then housed in a box or the like to be stored or transported. However, it is troublesome to assemble the apparatus when it is to be used.
In order to eliminate the above drawbacks, plate-like VHF/UHF antenna apparatuses have been developed. One of these antenna apparatuses is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,821,710 to Hall. This antenna apparatus comprises an antenna component sandwiching an antenna element consisting of metal wires between two electrically insulating plates or sheets. This apparatus can be placed, e.g., behind a picture frame. Since the antenna element of this apparatus cannot be seen from outside, this apparatus does not degrade an interior design. However, since this antenna apparatus cannot be bent or folded, it is inconvenient to store or transport the apparatus.
An antenna apparatus similar to that disclosed in the U.S. patent of Hall is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,587,105 to Neilson.
In addition, so-called plate-like printed antenna apparatuses each obtained by printing an antenna element on an electrically insulating substrate are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,587,110 to Woodward and U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,373 to Holst et al. Similar to the above apparatuses, these antenna apparatuses can be incorporated behind a picture or the like.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 3,754,269 to Clavin et al. discloses an omnidirectional antenna apparatus obtained by adhering a band of a flexible conductive material on a flexible electrically insulating material and winding the resultant structure around a radome. However, this antenna apparatus is to be mounted on a large radome and hence is not suitable for receiving TV or FM programs.